Trade Treaty Threats and Sub-National Sovereignty: Multilateral Trade Treaties and Their Negligible Impact on State Laws

Advocates of free trade extol the virtues of trade without borders, while opponents decry its abysmal consequences. While debates about the benefits and detriments of free trade seem never-ending, there has been comparatively little discussion of the actual impact of international trade obligations on sub-national components of federal governments. Although the relationship between America\u27s trade treaties and the policies of state governments has become a more visible issue in international trade, relatively little is known about how these international trade obligations really shape state law-making among the fifty U.S. states. This Note examines how international trade treaties have actually impacted the fifty states of the Union and proposes that although the potential threat to state sovereignty remains real, the actual impact of multilateral trade obligations on states has been negligible